Akhilesh govt yet to fill key posts in public sector bodies

The Samajwadi Party won the assembly election on March 7, 2012, when the results were declared. Akhilesh Yadav, who scripted the party's victory, formed the government 8 days after the results were declared. At that time speculation was rife about who the SP leadership would choose for the key posts of public sector enterprise, corporations and other institutions and how long it would take to decide on the same.

Now, more than eight months after it has been in office, the Akhilesh Yadav government has failed to constitute the statutory boards and commissions in UP. Nor has it appointed the heads of public sector enterprises, corporations and nearly 150 other institutions.

With no decision in sight, those who had expected to get some kind of appointment are becoming restive. The active workers of the party's youth wing, particularly, are getting restless as they believe that they were shortchanged at the time of the formation of the state government. At that time, they had hoped for a share in power by way of political appointments.

The government couldn't resist pressure from power centres such as the Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, whose relative Waseem Ahmed Khan was appointed chairman of the State Pollution Control Board.

The state's SC-ST Commission, Backward Class Commission, State Minorities Commission and the Women's Commission are all statutory commissions. The chairpersons of these commissions had been appointed by the previous BSP government under Mayawati and had resigned immediately after the change in government in March.

The SP government has so far appointed neither the chairpersons nor the members of these commissions. Lying in limbo, these institutions have become defunct. The state has about 150 posts in various boards and corporations and public sector units which are mostly seen as political posts and filled accordingly.

While Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is chairman of mandiparishad, PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav is chairman of the UP Bridge Corporation Limited and Urban Development Minister Azam Khan is heading the Jal Nigam. Most other posts are lying vacant. When asked, BJP state president Dr Laxmikant Bajpai said these vacant posts shows that CM Akhilesh Yadav is not able to run the government.